When I was in fifth grade my teacher walked in one day and announced to the class that she was going to be making everyone peanut butter & jelly sandwiches. The whole class cheered but I could tell from the look on her face that there was a catch. She then revealed to us that she would be making each of us sandwiches but they would be made based on instructions we gave her. The task was to take as long as we needed to write down instructions on how to make a PB&J.

I sat at my desk methodically (yes I was methodical at 10 years old) thinking of how to make a PB&J. I thought of removing the lids from the jars, taking two slices of bread out of the bag, picking up the knife and so on. I wrote out each step very carefully as I prepared the famed sandwich in my head.

Once all my classmates and I were done our teacher started the task of making the class their creations. I knew that that a lot of students had not thought at all of the specific steps that go into making a sandwich. Most did not include bread, did not instruct the teacher to use a knife to spread the peanut butter and so on. Hilarity ensued at the teacher threw the sandwich contents around and made a mess of the front area of the classroom. I still have the visual in my head of her stacking the jars of PB&J between two pieces of bread when a student simply stated to put peanut butter on one slice of bread and to put jelly on another slice of bread.

My steps were the last to be read. Being class president at the time I felt as though I had something to live up to when she started to make my creation. Everything was going just as I had envisioned it. She read through the instructions with ease and was delighted when the sandwich was almost done. Then came the last step. Instead of saying something along the lines of simply place the two pieces of bread together my instructions said to smush them together. Mrs. Peterson looked at me dead in the eye and slapped the two pieces of bread together and did as I precisely asked with glee. The bread and its contents smashed together and flowed in-between her fingers.

I then knew, as I always had the importance of steps and when you converse with people that you have to tell them exactly what is on your mind and break it down for them so they understand. As a project manager here at EMG I have further learned the value of steps and communication so much so that if it one item is out of place it can not only halt a project but also have your fellow employees wondering what is going on.

Project managers must communicate with clients and internal team members that possess a wide range of personality types. We deal with outgoing people who enjoy discussion, debate and like to think on their feet. We also deal with people who want time to think and internalize the information before making a decision or even expressing an opinion. The way you communicate to the extrovert in your meeting is very different from the best communication technique for the introvert.

These differences in communication techniques are not just how you talk but also how you organize your presentations, present materials, update timelines and how you follow up afterwards. Clear goals also come along with this communication. If your team feels as though you do not know what is going on how can they be expected to have confidence in the project and the expected outcome.

I believe most people feel as though they communicate well but when you step back and take a look at the steps involved in a project you surely can’t make a peanut butter & jelly sandwich the same way you make an omelette. As project managers we have to treat every project as a whole new world to avoid pitfalls and smushing ourselves.